Nida's journal
by zhakeena
Summary: Nida's back! Whoo! What happens in the life of a nobody? Well, a whole lot of crazy, insane, twisted and sweet stuff! (after a long sleep... the 8th chapter's up.)
1. how happy i am.

Nida's Journal and/or diary  
  
(first chapter...)  
  
  
  
6.30 am. One of those too-early-in-the-morning people in the cafeteria. Glad to be like that. Hate it when the "famous" people show up, sorta. Nobody notices me anyway. Just want to drink steaming coffee and eat croissant, and be done with breakfast. Then face another aggravating day.  
  
6.35 am. Damn. Quistis and Xu spotted me. Decides then to sit with me. Ugh. So that's why people think I'm gay... Must not be mad... they're my friends... breathe... okay, they're getting near.  
  
Quistis: Good morning, Nida! Mind if we sit with you?  
  
Me: (seemingly miffed, but they must have assumed that it's because of the fly on my cereal bowl.) Oh, no, go ahead.  
  
Xu: Glad we decided to have breakfast early. Sometimes it just gets so crowded here... So, what are you people gonna do today?  
  
Quistis: (sighs) Even if it's a Saturday, still gotta work. I have to tutor a bunch of junior classmen, then have to prepare the written exams, and so on...  
  
Xu: I'm just gonna introduce some new students here... I'm free in the afternoon! So, if you have the time, Quisty, you wanna go to the mall?  
  
Quistis: Sure!...that is, if I have the time...(notices me, sulking. Whoo boy. What a miraculous morning.) Oh, btw, Nida! What are you gonna do all day?  
  
Me: (chewing on croissant) Wha? Oh... the usual... sulk in the quad, or library, or in dorm, or wherever my feet take me.  
  
Xu: (laughs) Well, good luck Nida! When if you have the time, wanna come to the mall with us?  
  
Me: Oh, sure... Well, off I go to the adventure that is my life...(stands up)  
  
Quistis: Okay, good luck...  
  
7.35 am. Just came out of Quad, after being forced out by idiot Garden Festival Commitee. What a bunch of dorks.  
  
7.36 am. Have just considered joining the Garden Festival Commitee.  
  
7.37 am. Laughs at own psychotic idea. Hmmm. Better go to the library... Might find another issue of Occult Fan... or finally read the Almanac of the Uncanny.  
  
7.45 am. Finally reached Library, after being challenged by Triple Triad card geeks. Got an Elvoret and Quistis card. hmph. Fantasizes on when someday there'll be a Nida card. Laughs at that stupid thought.  
  
7.46 am. Yeeeaaaah! Have got stack of Occult Fans 1-6! Also got Almanac of Uncanny! Must now find a secluded corner in Library... There we go.  
  
7.48 am. Magazines are very interesting... enjoyed them very much. And--- wow, who's that? She's pretty.  
  
7.49 am. Have just realized that pretty girl is Ellone Loire. Gosh, it's her! Always wanted to know her. Quistis always tells me that she's very,very sisterly and such.(hmph... but she never introduced me to her or anythang... damn. mental note: give her a piece of my mind... or not.)  
  
Wow! We're practically sitting together! (although there are two tables between us, but there's nobody there, so...) But am getting embarrassed. Probably thinks I'm a geek, coz I'm all alone and am reading stuff like Occult Fan. Damn. Damn. Damn.  
  
7.51 am. Whew, finally she stood up, about to leave. Am observing her from corner of eye. Gosh, she's cute. Oh---wait. Coming in my direction. Uh-oh! Uh-oh!  
  
I felt her tap on my shoulder. Out of shock, I shouted an, "AH!"  
  
Library goers faced me and went, "ssshhh!" Face went all red.  
  
Ellone smiled, and probably giggled a bit. "Excuse me," (wow! she excused herself! ... why am I making a big deal out of this?) "but after you're done with those magazines, can I borrow them? I wanna read them too." Damn. She just wants the crappy magazines.  
  
9.00 am. Just went out of training center to usher the lovebirds out of the secret place. Then was chased by stupid grat. Only if I had a weapon... Some SeeD I am.  
  
8.00 pm. Just went back from mall, after 3 straight hours of being dragged by women who haven't shopped for 3 months. Gah. Bushed. Am going to sleep now...  
  
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Author's notes: didn't bother to put disclaimer, since you folks know the drill... let me know if you liked this story... then i'll continue it. 


	2. the day after

Nida's Journal and/or diary...  
  
(second chapter... the day after.)  
  
6.50 am. Ungh. Woke up 15 minutes later than usual. Just burst in from the cafeteria doors, and was stared at by... nobody in particular(just some weirdos here and there. why do i ramble like this? as if i'm not a weirdo.). Obviously, even though I'm later than usual for me, I'm still too early for others.  
  
6.54 Just got food from the groggy Caf ladies. Line was 3 people long. That's what I like about being early. Let's see...table, table, table,.... A-hah!  
  
6.56 Reading the Daily Balamb Herald. Interesting headline... about contaminated jellyfish poisoning the customers of local Chinese restaurant. Where is China, anyway?  
  
6.57 Have just pondered on what jellyfish, contaminated or not, might taste like. ugh.  
  
7.00 In the middle of chomping croissant when Quistis and Xu spotted me. (again.) And decides to sit with me. (again.) Quistis, as usual, greeted me in usual cheery-but-instructor-like tone, while Xu smiled at me.  
  
Quistis: Hey, Nida! Mind if we sit down?  
  
Me: (looks up in usual sulky manner) No, of course not... you know the drill... (gestures at two seats at the table.)  
  
Xu: So, d'ya have any luck finding something to do yesterday? For some reason, I forgot to ask you yesterday afternoon at the mall.  
  
Me: Typical... so nice of you to remember anyway. I was only officially banned out of the Quad by some G.F.C. members, was challenged by Triple Triad card geeks, was chased by a grat after ushering lovebirds out of the so-called secret area... oh, yeah, and I met Ellone at the library. if not, at least she noticed me, or at least the magazines I'm reading...(says all this with mouth full.)  
  
(At the sound of the name "Ellone", Quistis, by some miracle, was interested so suddenly at my ramblings. Wow. That makes two straight miraculous mornings. Lucky me...)  
  
Quistis: rreeAALLYY? You saw Big Sis? She rarely approaches anybody around here...  
  
Xu: (could've sworn she frowned a bit) So, what'd she say to you?  
  
Me: (sulks again) Just wants to read the Occult Fan mags I was reading at the time. Didn't even bother to look back after she got them... Oh well. that's what nobodies are for.  
  
Xu: (could've sworn she smiled a bit wider) Oh... okaaaayyyyy......  
  
Quistis: That's it?  
  
Me: ....yeah.....  
  
Quistis: Welllllll....Okay. So, Xu, do you have any intention of blablablablablablah?  
  
Xu: Oh, yeah! The blablablablablablablablablablablab.......  
  
Me: (groans, and stands up, as is finished with breakfast... the 2 didn't even notice... I think.)  
  
7.30 am. Wheretogowheretogowheretogo?(result of espresso. never drink that stuff again.) Have nowhere to go, nothing to do...again. Hmmm... I guess I'll go to my dorm.  
  
7.31 Was casually walking to my dorm when I realized that I have left water running. Crap!  
  
7.32 Run, Nida, Run! Stupid water might have drowned your cards for good!  
  
7.32 1/2 Was muttering, "Crapcrapcrapcrap" to myself when I bumped into someone. Said "sh**" to myself as I realized that someone was Ellone.  
  
"Gee, sorry miss Loire..." I helped her stand up.  
  
"No, that's alright. Hey, you're the Occult fan boy yesterday, right?"  
  
Wow. She remembers. "Yeah, th-that's me, alright. T-the Oc-cult Fan boy." Damn! Stop stuttering, Nida!  
  
She giggled. Probably thinks stuttering is cute. (at least, I hope so...) "Okay... Anyway, I forgot to thank you yesterday, plus you left your I.D. card in between Issue #3..."  
  
"R-really? thanks!"  
  
She buried her hand into her shoulderbag, and rummaged around. Finally, she got it.  
  
"Okay, maybe I'll see you again...*reads ID card* Nida."  
  
She walked away, and I watched her until she turned on her heel and was out of sight. Realized was in a trance and forgot why I was hurrying into dorm. Crap! The stupid water!  
  
7.35 am. Grrr.... turns out that stupid water was turned off, after all. Utterly frustrated.  
  
7.36 Sulking around on bed, figuring out what to do all day. What to do. What to do. Ugh. Totally brain drained.  
  
7.37 Moment of silence caused me to hear idiot neighbor John's snoring. That kid never shuts up, whether he be asleep or awake. (author's note: sorry if I offended any Johns out there!)  
  
7.38 Tired of sitting in dorm, with the T.V. that never has any good channels, the telephone that never rings, and my P.C. that is just too outdated. Decided to go to the Quad; probably the Garden Fest Com is finished with what the hell they were doing there yesterday.  
  
9.00 am. Still the Selphie fanatics are not yet done with what the hell they were doing in the Quad. Still am stumped with what to do all day. Wasted an hour sitting at bench, fantasizing things like the Nida card, contaminated jellyfish, slimy half man half Ochu(read that in Occult fan #4), and Ellone(gah! can't forget her! do i have a crush on her?! uh-oh... very bad. what is it with me and older women? First Quistis and now this... drat.).  
  
9.01 Maybe I'll just head off to the Infirmary; saw a sign there that any volunteers can help the doctor.  
  
9.05 Hmph. Too many students already volunteered. No place for good ol nobody Nida.  
  
12 noon. Somehow managed to kill 3 hours doing nothing. Am supposed to meet Quistis and Xu for lunch. Might as well reserve a table.  
  
12.02 Just got the last hotdog. Zell, who was behind me, finally whined and yelled like some demented overgrown baby. Very irritating.  
  
12.03 Just gave Zell last of hotdogs. He seemed very grateful, but said, "thanks, Norbert!" Bah. Anything to shut him up.  
  
12.04 Formerly groggy Caf ladies saw my act of kindness, and gave me extra potato pancakes. Yum.  
  
12.07 Sat down at table, and had just started eating lunch. Xu is already getting her own lunch. Noticed that Quistis is not with her. Hm... might as well ask her why. Duh.  
  
12.08 Usual table conversations starts again.  
  
Xu: Hey, Nida...  
  
Me: Hey. Where's Quistis? I thought she'll be joining us...  
  
Xu: Oh, she has to eat with the big boss man and his crew... something about another SeeD mission.  
  
Me: The big boss man? Cid has a crew?  
  
Xu: (laughs) No, stupid! I meant Commander Squall, along with Rinoa, Zell, Selphie, Irvine and Quistis.  
  
Me: Hmph. Lucky her. She gets missions. All I do around here is the occasional drive-the-Garden-to-another-site thang.  
  
Xu: (laughs again.) Funny, during the crashing of the Gardens you were whining at me about how hard it is to manuever 'this dang Garden.'  
  
Me: Yeah, funny...  
  
Xu:..... (munch munch...)  
  
Me: ....... (ditto)  
  
Spent the rest of the meal saying nothing to each other. Very tasty potato pancakes, though.  
  
5.25 pm. Arms falling off, thanks to Squall who decided to move this dang Garden at places I don't know. Had to do 17 sharp curves, 20 land-on-water thingies (makes you car-sick or sea-sick or Garden-sick or whatever...) and 1 barf session. Not feeling too well...  
  
5.26 ...must......sleep........ gah....  
  
9.00 pm. Argh! Just woke up from barf-induced sleep! Very late for dinner. Damn. Damn. Had a vivid dream too, but can't remember it right now. Damn. Damn.  
  
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that's the end of this chapter. thanks for even reading this. next one coming soon. just submit in your comments and suggestions as reviews, alright?  
  
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	3. that weekend...

Nida's journal and/or diary  
  
(part three! the weekend...)  
  
7.20 am. oooOOOH YEAH! The weekend! Now we can go outside and do some crappy, happy things! Finally... getting sick of Garden. Hanging out with Xu and John. (Probably likes Xu... at least I hope so) The Garden's parked near Dollet, so we had breakfast at some local fastfood chain.  
  
7.23 Just ordered sausage, muffin and capuccino. Tasty. Xu and John are talking their mouths off, while I observed the background.  
  
Here's all I saw:  
  
1. Squall being talked outta his head by Rinoa.  
  
2. Zell arguing with counter guy coz he can't have hotdogs for breakfast.  
  
3. CC leader, along with the rest, looking over their cards while they eat.  
  
4. Quistis and her student talking to each other. Probably tutoring her about summoning GFs.  
  
5. Dollet local staring at us like we're some foreign lunatics or something.  
  
6. Unknown creep at a dark corner picking his nose.  
  
8.00 am. Finally, Xu and John are finished. Now we can go outside to do... something, I guess.  
  
8.02 Decide to go back to Garden. We forgot some important stuff in our dorm.(i.e. cell phones, wallets, purse, toilet paper... the like...)  
  
9.00 We rested first in the Garden; shops don't open till 9 anyway. Currently walking along the street vendors; being stalled and tempted by weapons. I really, really want one... grrr....  
  
9.30 Found a music store. Hmm... Interesting... I'm a music lover, after all... a keyboard! I haven't played in years.  
  
"Hey, Nida? Watcha looking at?" Xu found me staring at the keyboard.  
  
"This keyboard..." I said, with a hint of sarcasm in my voice.  
  
"Haha! That was a stupid question. So, why are you interested with that thing? You know how to play one?"  
  
"Well... I used to play a bit of piano 3 years ago..."  
  
"Hah! This I gotta see," John remarked when he saw us talking about it.  
  
"Yeah, why don't you play a few notes? I'm sure the shopkeeper wouldn't mind..."  
  
The shopkeeper, who has been listening to our conversation for quite some time, replied. "Oh, no, I won't... provided that you'll buy something here..."  
  
John snorted, and picked up a guitar pick. "Here, I'll buy this... So Nida, are you gonna play or what?"  
  
"Sure I will," I said as I went up the platform and turned the keyboard on. I began pressing the keys, my piano lessons coming back to me second by second.  
  
I felt the music come out of my fingertips. (sounds dramatic, eh?) The song, 'Eyes on Me', began to come out of the instrument.  
  
When the chorus had finished, Xu looked at me with awe, surprise or whatever her expression was. "Wow, you're good! No matter how sick I am with that song..." Yeah! She seemed impressed.  
  
John was surprised too, but he didn't show it much. "Could you play another song? I'm pretty sick of that one too..."  
  
"Fine." So I played another song, 'Superman' this time.  
  
They all were awestruck, even the shopkeeper.  
  
"Bravo!"  
  
"...Not bad..."  
  
"Hey kid! Ya oughta buy that keyboard! You know, so you can practice..."  
  
I flinched when I saw how much the keyboard cost. "3,500 G? I don't have that kind of money!"  
  
The shopkeeper smiled. "But for you, I might lower the price... How's 2,500 G? That's the lowest I can offer..."  
  
" Gee... I only have 1000 Gil with me..."  
  
"Don't worry, I'll lend you some cash..." Xu said as she handed me another 1000 Gil.  
  
John chipped in, too. "But don't forget, you owe me."  
  
12 noon. Having lunch at cafe. They say they make the best beef sandwiches here... Already frustrated at shopping, coz the keyboard drained all of my money before the day even began! Oh well...  
  
12.45 Very very stuffed. Ugh... they don't make the best beef sandwiches, after all, but their pie is too good. Ungh. Feel like barfing.  
  
1.00 After walking to digest our cast-iron stomachs, we decided to go back to Garden.  
  
So, my bill for shopping today is:  
  
1000 bucks- paid for keyboard  
  
1000 more bucks-money I owe Xu owing to the keyboard  
  
500 bucks more-money I owe John owing to the keyboard  
  
300 bucks-money I owe Xu owing to beef sandwiches  
  
100 bucks-money I still owe Xu owing to all those pies (ugh)  
  
Total Gil wasted: 2,900 Gil  
  
Whew. That leaves me in a rut...  
  
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That's the end of this chapter. Can't think of what will happen in the afternoon... Anyway, thanks to the people who reviewed... as usual, expect the next chapter. 


	4. the discovery

Nida's Journal and/or Diary  
  
(chapter/part 4... the discovery)  
  
5.30 am. Woke up coz telephone's ringing in an ungodly hour. It was Quistis who for some reason decided to give me a wake-up call.  
  
Quistis: Hello, Nida? It's Quistis.  
  
Me: (groaning/mumbling/muttering) Oh, hey... whazzup?  
  
Quistis: Just wanna tell you not to expect me or Xu for breakfast, alright? We're going in town to give a surprise visit to her mom. We're about to leave. Just waiting for her...  
  
Me: Oh, so you wake me up on 5.30 in the morning to tell me that?  
  
Quistis: Oh, sorry... Guess this was a stupid thing, huh?  
  
Me: Nah, don't worry about it... I'm really just cranky when I wake up.  
  
Quistis: Okay, just wait for us in the Quad at about... 10.00 am. The Garden Fest Committee finally decided to leave their project for a while...  
  
Me: Ows? Why?  
  
Quistis: Oh, you don't know? Selphie and Irvine's fight is the talk of the Garden...  
  
Me: Oh, yeah... So she's psychologically depressed or something?  
  
Quistis: Yeah... Anyway, please don't forget, the Quad!  
  
Me: Bah... I'm not that forgetful...  
  
Quistis: Oh, Xu's here... Talk to ya later!  
  
Me: Later...  
  
Must... sleep..... zzssnnooorrreee......  
  
9.30 am. In dorm, about to leave when somebody knocked on my door. Opened it and found out that it was John.  
  
"Hey, Nida!" Funny. Unusually cheery.  
  
"Hey..."  
  
"Uh, listen, will you do me a favor? If you do it, you can forget about the 500 Gil you still owe me..."  
  
Hmmm.... must be big favor, coz he keeps leaving me messages like "Pay me back ya bum!"  
  
"I guess so..."  
  
"Good! Can you bring your keyboard to the Quad? I need you to play a song to impress some girl..."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You know, when I'm making my move, you play some sort of background song... or something..."  
  
"That... is an idiotic plan, Johnny-boy. You just have to make your move in broad daylight, in front of everyone and at the most awkward time of the day for some background music!"  
  
"Just do it for me, will ya?"  
  
I pondered for a moment. Hmmm.... Might be discovered by some people and somehow be in the 'Battle of the Bands' the Garden's been planning for a while... Also watch John given the cold shoulder. "Alright..."  
  
9.35 am. In the Quad, waiting for Shaneen, the girl that John has his eyes on. Suddenly, John nudged me and pointed to a girl wearing turquoise pants, a turquoise shirt, turquoise bandana---turquoise everything. She looked at John, then rolled her eyes and turned away, seemingly annoyed.  
  
"This is it, Nida! Play 'Eyes On Me'!"  
  
"But EVERYONE'S sick of that song by now..."  
  
"Just play it ya bum!"  
  
"Fine..."  
  
So I pressed the keys of the keyboard while John was reciting some sappy lines that were obviously memorized. I could tell that Turquoise Girl was as annoyed as I am. When the song was almost over, Shaneen can't take it anymore. She slapped him across the face. Hard. I half-wanted to gape at her for being so violent and high-strung, but also wanted to laugh out loud coz Johnny looked horrified, embarrassed, surprised, awkward, and Hyne- knows-what-else.  
  
9.39. Was really rubbing it in at John when someone tapped me on my shoulder. I jumped out of surprise that someone tapped me at shoulder, but jumped up higher when I saw who it was. (guess who...?)  
  
"Ellone?!"  
  
"Uh... hi, Nida..." she looked at John who was still holding his face out of agony, then back at me. "I listened to you play that song. You're pretty good."  
  
"Really? Ya think so?"  
  
"Yeah! Anyway, I kinda promised Selphie to find a keyboard player for her band to replace her before the Battle of the Bands... You know, coz of what happened between her and Irvine?"  
  
"So... you want me to replace her?"  
  
"Yeah! Would you?"  
  
Was a bit confused. Be known as the nobody who became famous? Cool! But then, what if fame really isn't that bigovadeal? Or what if the band flops coz of me? Anyway, since this is Ellone, probably the band is composed of the so-called heroes (and heroines) who beat Ultimecia to a pathetic pulp! Then I'll be overshadowed once again...  
  
Oh, what the heck. "Okay! I'll do it!"  
  
"Really? Yessss..." She gave me some weird victory gesture.  
  
Then suddenly, somebody from behind me shouted. "Sis!"  
  
It was Quistis. Figures that she'll notice her first than me.  
  
"Oh, hi, Quisty!" She and Ellone hugged.  
  
"Hi, Quistis," I said. "Where's Xu?"  
  
Then, out of nowhere, Xu tapped at me with her cold, long-fingernailed hand. I screamed an "Ah!" and turned around to see her.  
  
"Oh, hi Xu! How'd your visit with your mom go?"  
  
She looked really miffed, tired, grumpy, groggy and Hyne-knows-what-else. "Hmmm? Oh, just fine..."  
  
Must not say things to her that will make her snap. She's really scary when she rages...  
  
"Um, here's the money that I owe you..."  
  
I handed her the Gil. She took it, and gave half of it back.  
  
"Here. You keep it."  
  
"What?! No, that's your money, you keep it."  
  
She suddenly grabbed my hand, dropped the money on it, and closed it so tight that my hand could be broken if she crushed it any harder.  
  
"I said, you keep it." She really looked very, very stressed now.  
  
Out of shock, I just nodded and talked to Ellone about the band.  
  
2.30 pm In dorm. Ellone said to expect Zell or Squall at the door or on the phone. Door suddenly was knocked out of its mind if it had one. Turns out to be Zell.  
  
"Yo! You Needa, right?"  
  
"Nida."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever..." Probably hung around Squall too much, or something.  
  
"Anyway, the other members of our band are Squall and Seifer. Just so you know."  
  
S-s-seifer?! Bad, bad... his posse, before he was kicked out of Garden, had always enjoyed tormenting me. Squall? I suddenly imagined him yelling like some rockstar, then smashing a guitar into bits. Gaaah! That scene's gonna take years to erase from my mind...  
  
"Seifer? I thought you hated each other..." Had always heard Zell whining at Seifer in detention before.  
  
"Yeah... but Sis forced us to. You know, coz we were from the same orphanage after all? Also thought that the Battle of the Bands will bond us together..." he wore a somewhat disgusted expression.  
  
"How about Irvine?"  
  
"Oh, after he and Selphie fought, he quit the band too. So Seifer replaced him. He's probably in town right now, finding another soul mate... or sumfin'..." I could tell that Zell was angry at Irvine too. (i don't know why...)  
  
"Practice is at 9.30 am, tomorrow. We'll just meet at the Quad, alright?"  
  
"Sure, you can count on it..."  
  
10.00 pm. Really am worried about Xu. Obvious that Quistis knows about it, but doesn't wanna talk about it, either. Hmph. Call themselves a bloody friend.  
  
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Ja liiiiiiikkkeeeeee it?... Finally finished this chapter after living like a hermit for a week! (in yo' face, writer's block! yeah!) Anyway, expect the next chapter to be as long, or longer, or shorter (have not got plans. ho hum) than this one. 


	5. practice

Nida's Journal and/or Diary  
  
(part/chapter 5... practice)  
  
7.00 am. At cafeteria. Eating by self, expecting Quistis or Xu to eventually find me. Then saw Quistis walking in a hurry towards me.  
  
Quistis: Morning, Nida.  
  
Me: Hey.  
  
Quistis: (directly to the point) Listen, I have to tell you something. It's about Xu.  
  
Me: (suddenly interested) Okay, spill the beans, already! What's with her lately?  
  
Quistis: Well, you see.... (was suddenly interrupted by tray out of nowhere, which just happened to be Xu's)  
  
Xu: (groggier than before) Mmmph... Morning... Whatcha talkin about?  
  
Quistis: Oh..... nothing......  
  
Me: (quickly gobbles hash browns) rrmph mmph.....  
  
9.30 am. In Quad. Was waiting for the unnamed band for 10 mins. already. Looking like an idiot carrying large keyboard. Good thing nobody decided to come here yet.  
  
9.35. Still nobody....  
  
9.40 Grrr.......  
  
9.45 Am fiddling with thumbs when Squall came, carrying a guitar with a weird charm (griever) dangling on one of the knob-things. As usual, he just looked at me with a blank stare, then waited at one corner, saying nothing.  
  
10.00. Finally, Zell came. He dragged his guitar as he approached me and Squall. He greeted Squall, who just stared at him, and then faced me.  
  
Zell: Man, you guys actually came on time?!  
  
Squall:....................... where's Seifer?  
  
Zell: He's setting up his drums and the amplifiers at the rehearsal room.  
  
Me: Um... (feeling like an alien or something) shouldn't we be going by now?...  
  
Zell: Hah! Always the eager one, huh? Anyways, I think that lapdog should be done by now... Let's get goin.  
  
Squall:................. whatever.  
  
10.05. At the rehearsal room. Haven't started anything yet when Zell and Seifer began to quarrel again. Hmph. So much for the discovery...  
  
Hmmm. Might as well listen to them, anyway. The battle's getting intense.  
  
Zell: Grr.... I can't believe I agreed to this band when he's in it!  
  
Seifer: Nobody asked you to stay, Chicken-wuss!  
  
Zell: Why don't you leave so you can do us all a favor?!  
  
Seifer: I'm only playing with you chumps for the prize money! Otherwise, I'd have left you and puberty boy in the blue!  
  
Squall: .......... Shut up, you guys. You're annoying me.  
  
Zell: Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Commander Sir! (sarcastically)  
  
Seifer: Yeah, Commander Puberty Boy! Why I oughta blablablablablablabla!!!!!  
  
Zell: Blablablablablablablablablabla!!!  
  
Squall: (seemingly miffed) ............  
  
Was relieved that I am invisible. But then, Quistis, Ellone and a somewhat depressed Selphie came in to calm them down.  
  
10.09 Finally, the Squabble boys had shut up. Now finally, we can start rehearsing. Selphie's gonna hear our sounds first to see what kind of a band we should be.  
  
Selphie: Okay, Squall! Let's hear your guitar first.  
  
Squall: ............. (strums his guitar like all guitarists do... Very simple, really.)  
  
Selphie: .... I guess that's all right for pop rock...  
  
Seifer: Ughh... I hate Pop Rock!  
  
Quistis: Fine, let's hear your drums, Almasy!  
  
Ellone: Yeah, Seifer, show us what ya got!  
  
Seifer: (offended coz Ellone used his famous catch phrase) Hmph... (does a wild drum solo.)  
  
Selphie: Kewl! Now let's hear Zell!  
  
Zell: All right. [just imagine the intro in 'Bent' by Matchbox Twenty]  
  
Selphie: Kewl! Now let's hear... um...er... Your name's Needa, right?  
  
Me: (seemingly miffed) Nida. [then plays the intro of 'In the End' by Linkin Park]  
  
All of them:............ (amazed, I hope?)  
  
Selphie: Creeeeeepppppyyyyyy........ I like it!  
  
Quistis: Yeah, sounds so sinister!  
  
Then everyone (but Seifer I guess) began complimenting me. Yesss!!!!  
  
10.30 For some reason, the girls decided to leave us alone and let us decide for ourselves what kindovaband we'll turn out to be and what's gonna be our band's name. Bad. Bad.  
  
Squall: I think we should be a jazz band. I hate screaming.  
  
Seifer: Oh really. We sure haven't noticed. but JAZZ STINX MAN!!! DAMMIT! We should be a heavy metal band!  
  
(gaaahhh! Unerasable picture comes again!)  
  
Zell: No, we should be an alternative rock band! Yeah!*sings* Get the cool... Get the cool shoeshine!!!! [from the song, '19-2000' by the Gorillaz.]  
  
Seifer: Sheeesh! Kakanta ka lang bulok pa!!! p********! {translation: You sing bad! %^* @! # $%@!&!)  
  
Zell: Say what?!  
  
Seifer: Nothing. *mutters* chicken wuss.  
  
Squall: How about you, Nida? (everyone then begins to stare at me... .)  
  
Me:.......... Idaknow.  
  
Seifer: Oh, great. I have a Chicken-wuss, a puberty boy and a deadhead in my band.  
  
Everyone: *glares at Seifer*  
  
10.45 Finally, we decided to become an Alternative rock band, coz that's the easiest so far in our choices. Now, we are arguing about our band's name. Dammit. Hyne take me now.  
  
Zell: How about 'The Phoenix Downs'? (oh, please.)  
  
Seifer: Lame.  
  
Squall: ....... *shakes head*  
  
Zell: Well why don't you two think of something? (invisible again.)  
  
Seifer: Bloodfest.  
  
Squall: Lame.  
  
Zell: Yeah, we sound like some sort of blood thirsty morons!  
  
Seifer: Perfectly all right with you, Zell. You're already a moron.  
  
Zell: Hey!  
  
Squall: ....... How about "Griever's Bunch"?  
  
Seifer: Lamer.  
  
Zell: Grrr...... what now? (fume.)  
  
Seifer: How about you, deadhead?  
  
Me:............ Idaknow.  
  
Seifer: *grunts* I knew it.  
  
Me: How about a name based on your, i don't know, Limit Breaks, or sumfin....  
  
Zell: Yeah! We could be 'Different Beat'!... or 'Dolphin Blow'! ... or 'My Final Heaven'! Yeah!  
  
Seifer: Lame, lamer, lamest.  
  
Squall: ......... How about... 'Rough Divide'? Nah... 'Fated Circle'? 'Blasting Zone'? 'Lionheart'?  
  
Seifer: Fire Cross.  
  
Zell: D'oh...... this isn't working, you guys! ...Hey, how about you, deadhead, er i mean Nida? What's your limit break?  
  
(D'oh. Everyone looks at me expectantly again.)  
  
Me: um...... I....(remembers Grat incident) run like hell fire....  
  
Seifer: Hah! Finally someone wussier than Chicken-wuss!  
  
Squall: Hell Fire, huh.... not bad.  
  
Zell: Yeah! That's what we'll call our band! Hell Fire! Although I like the sound of 'Different Beat' more...  
  
Whew. Finally got that over with. Now, we can finally practice a song or two...  
  
9.00 pm. Am tired, after a whole day of enduring squabbling, and being verbally harrased. Am still worried about Xu, coz I haven't seen her since breakfast.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Gwaaaahhhhh! Lame, I know... But I can't think of better lines! Damn! Punyeta! Duurrrrr...  
  
... just review this as I go live like a hermit again for a week. 


	6. WHAT?!

Nida's Journal and/or diary  
  
(chapter/part 6-WHAT?!)  
  
7.00 am. In cafeteria. Looking for Quistis and possibly the disgruntled Xu, but can't. Just sat down and ate hash browns by self when heard Trepies talking with each other.  
  
Trepie #1: Where's Instructor Trepe keeping herself lately? I haven't seen her in a while...  
  
Trepie #2: I heard she's comforting her best friend. You know, that secretary chick? (man those Trepies are some spies!)  
  
Trepie #3: Really? What's with her?  
  
Trepie #2: Nobody knows really. She even won't tell it to her other best friend... er... what's-his-name... (hmph.)  
  
Trepie #1: Never mind him. I just wanna talk to Instructor again...  
  
Trepie #3: Isn't she noble? She really knows how to take care of her friends........  
  
Trepie #2: Blablablablablablablablablbabla?  
  
Trepie #1: Blablabla! Blablablablabberblabbertyblabla.....  
  
Hmmm..... Have now got a clue about Xu... But if those Trepies don't even know it, it's something big.  
  
7.05 Why won't they tell me? Why?  
  
7.06 Will figure out later. Just have choked on waffles. cough.  
  
10.00 am. In the rehearsal room. Calmly listening to bandmates as they fuss about the first song. (right. calmly.)  
  
Squall: Whaddya mean, we still have no songs?! It's been a week now!  
  
Seifer: Well don't look at me; I don't know how to write music...  
  
Zell: Uh... I have a song I wrote by myself, but I don't know if it's worth it...  
  
Squall and Seifer: ....great.  
  
Me: Er... a song's a song, I guess. Let's hear it first.  
  
Zell: Alright... You asked for it...  
  
(He then did a wild intro consisting of fast consecutive strumming.)  
  
Zell: At first I was afraid!  
  
To eat a Pizza Pie!  
  
Kept thinking, "This is not a good!  
  
This is a Pizza Pie!"  
  
And I spent O so many nights just eating my hotdogs and fries  
  
And I grew strong!  
  
Just eating my hot dogs and fries!  
  
There was a box!  
  
From outer space!  
  
I saw it, then I grabbed this weirdo box from outer space!  
  
I opened it and then I saw  
  
A pizza pie that's extra large  
  
I tasted it, consumed it within 5 seconds like peanuts!  
  
And now---------owch!  
  
(before he could get to the refrain, a drumstick went flying into the air and hit him on the side of the head.)  
  
Seifer (who apparently threw the drumstick): That's the stupidest song ever, Chicken Wuss!  
  
Squall: I don't know. It was kinda catchy!  
  
Everyone: (Stares at Squall)  
  
Squall: What?  
  
Seifer: Anyway, how are we gonna win this thing if we don't even have a few decent songs?  
  
Zell: (still rubbing side of head) If you didn't like my song, just tell me, okay?!  
  
Squall: (turning serious again) Seriously, how are we gonna win this thing without songs?  
  
Me: (who is silent for quite a while) Er... why don't we just play some songs that are already made?  
  
Seifer: Huh? ..... Enlighten us.  
  
Zell: Wha?  
  
Squall: (rolls eyes) Explain...  
  
Me: I read the rules, and it says that there's really no need to compose new songs. We can just play the songs of the-----I don't know---- Linkin Park, or the Gorillaz, or something.....  
  
Squall: Great. We wasted a whole week fussing about composing when we could just do that....  
  
10.34 am. Now, they're fighting over who's gonna be the lead vocalist. Humph. So much for practicing...  
  
Zell: I should be the lead vocals! I can sing pretty good!  
  
Seifer: Oh, please. I'm still deaf from that &*!@%$# pizza song...  
  
Zell: If your gonna whine about it, why don't you sing?  
  
Seifer: How am I gonna sing, doofus? I'm the drummer, genius!  
  
Zell: Well then who's gonna sing?  
  
Squall:.............. how about Nida?  
  
Me: Nuh-uh......  
  
Seifer: Yeah, I wouldn't wanna have a deadhead for our lead singer...  
  
Zell: Waitaminute.... How about Squall?  
  
Squall: (with eyes wide open) NOOOO!!!!! NEVAH!!! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!!!  
  
Seifer: (with evil smirk) Oh, yes we can... Heheheh.... (grabs cellphone outta nowhere)  
  
10.36 Apparently, Seifer used his cellphone to call Rinoa. A minute after Seifer called, she suddenly appeared in the rehearsal room.  
  
Rinoa: Squall? You're gonna be their lead singer, right? (in a singsong voice so sickeningly sweet)  
  
Squall: (eye twitching) B-b-but Rinoa.........  
  
Rinoa: (in an even more sickeningly sweet voice) Squall?..........  
  
Squall: Awwww maaaannnnnnn.......  
  
Rinoa: So you're gonna do it?  
  
Squall: No!  
  
Rinoa: Pwetty Pweeaaassee?  
  
Squall: Ergh....  
  
Rinoa: Withcherryontopandsugaronitandvanillaicecreamandchocolatesyrupandhoneyglazed onuts?  
  
Squall: (mutters) Oh, all right....  
  
Rinoa: Yessss! My job here is done... Well, good luck, guys! I'll be rootin for ya!  
  
Zell: OK, bye Rinoa!  
  
Seifer: (smirking a sweet-revenge type smirk) Yeah, thanks Rinoa!  
  
Squall: I don't believe this.......  
  
3.00 pm. Walking down the halls of Garden and saw Quistis hugging Ellone and saying, "Oh I'm so happy for you!" Then they saw me. But then I noticed Ellone was......with some other guy! They all walked towards me.  
  
"Hi Nida! Guess what?" Quistis asked me.  
  
"No, let me tell him, Quisty..." Ellone said.  
  
"Hi, guys... what's going on?" I said.  
  
"Okay.... First of all, Nida, meet William. He's my fiance' from Winhill." Fiance'?! Owch! That fell like a ton of bricks...  
  
"Hi, Nida!" William greeted me with a steely grin, and offered his hand.  
  
I shook it. "Hello, William!" I tried my best to look glad, or at least normal.  
  
Ellone smiled wider. "Good! You know, I've been trying to find you since this morning!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
Ellone and Quistis looked at each other.  
  
"Well, coz this is big news... We're getting married!"  
  
WWWWHHHHHAAAAAAAATTTT????!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!  
  
"Yeah, next month! Isn't it great?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm happy for you..." Aw, man.... So this is what it is like to have loved and lost....  
  
I heard them talk with each other more, then I heard William say, "Bye!" and he and Ellone walked off. So now it's just Quistis and me.  
  
Quistis suddenly turned serious. "Hey, Nida... Have you seen Xu?"  
  
"Xu? No, I haven't seen her all week... Why?"  
  
"Oh, it's nothing..."  
  
I looked at her. "Please, Quistis! Tell me what's with her lately!"  
  
She looked troubled. "U-um... Sorry, Nida.... I promised her not to t-tell anyone..."  
  
That really took the cake. "Man!" I said, before storming away.  
  
12.05 am. Moped around in dorm since I left Quistis in the halls. Why is life this hard? I know I may be over reacting, but thing happened so fast.  
  
12.06 Decided to just think in Secret Area. Not many people there this late at night, coz now they ask for special passes to go in there past curfew. Good thing I drive this Garden; special privelege.  
  
12.10 Did not care about stupid grats anymore; just trudged my way into the secret area and miraculously didn't encounter anything.  
  
I saw a woman in there, all by herself, smoking. She looked pretty familiar... she then heard me, and turned around.  
  
It was Xu.  
  
"Nida, what are you doing here?" She said groggily before she took another whiff of smoke.  
  
"No, the question is, what are you doing here, Xu? And you're smoking!"  
  
She sighed, and crushed her cigarette with her foot. "I was just thinking..."  
  
Then I took the opportunity to ask her about her. "Xu, I've noticed a lot of changes in you lately... what's wrong with you? Quistis woudn't tell me... But i wanna help you out, too..."  
  
She suddenly froze, and stared at me. "You wanna know what the frickin' hell's wrong with me?"  
  
She came closer, and then suddenly shouted at me. "YOU WANNA KNOW? DO YA? WELL, I'LL TELL YA!"  
  
she took a deep breath, and started again. "First, my mother tells me to stop bugging her and get my own life! Then, I found out that she and my dad are gonna have a divorce! Then, my brother runs away from home, and now I'm probably gonna get fired coz i'm not doing anything right lately! And you ask me what the hell's wrong with me?"  
  
I was shocked. Had no idea she was so troubled like that. And I was always whining about being a nobody...  
  
Before I could say anything, she suddenly collapsed.  
  
"Xu?!" I caught her before she fell to the ground.  
  
Then I saw a couple enter the secret area. It was Rinoa and Squall.  
  
"Nida, what's going on here?" Squall looked at me, then at Xu.  
  
"She fainted. I have to get her to the infirmary..."  
  
Rinoa stepped closer. "The infirmary's closed now... but I'll revive her..." She cast a spell on her. Then, Xu awoke.  
  
"Wha... where am I?"  
  
"You ought to take her to her dorm room, Nida..." Squall helped her up.  
  
"N-no, I can take care of myself..."  
  
"No you can't," Rinoa added. "We'll feel better if Nida went with you."  
  
"A-all right."  
  
12.25 Took Xu to her dorm room. Was still in state of shock on the happenings that happened. Really, really tired, but Xu needed help.  
  
"Thanks, Nida. Thanks for even listening to me..."  
  
"That's alright, Xu; Hey we're friends after all, right?"  
  
She nodded, then opened her door. But then she faced me, then buried her face into my shoulder, and cried out loud.  
  
"Sniffle.... Life's not fair, Nida! Why did my parents have to fight? Why did Xavier have to run away? Why can't I do anything? Why? Why? Why?" She kept ranting and ranting about. Man. She really was stressed.  
  
Think, Nida, think! What will I say to her? I just burst out some ramblings of my own.  
  
"N-now, don't worry, Xu..." I stammered as I patted her back. "Everything will be better in the morning... Just promise me you'll rest, okay?" That sounded good... i think.  
  
She nodded, and walked in her dorm. I can still hear her sniffling as I walked into my own dorm.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
usual end-of-the-chapter author's notes: (crawling from under a rock) I LIVE!!!!!!  
  
Oh, no... I just know you people are gonna give me a piece of your mind for not making nida end up with ellone! but i want to make this more dramatic, soooo.....  
  
By the way, Zell's pizza pie outburst don't belong to me, all right?  
  
Also, the songs in the last chapter songs don't also belong to me. (duh...)  
  
Man, my arms are tired.... review this, mah friends, and i'll think of the next chapter... 


	7. Merry band of spies

Nida's Journal and/or diary  
  
(part/chapter 7!.....merry band of spies)  
  
10.42 pm. Can't believe it. One minute I was practicing with the squabble boys, the next I'm stranded in the middle of the forest with a ninja suit on. Here's the scoop:  
  
*7.am this morning. Usual breakfast a bit unusual. Good thing Quistis or Xu isn't eating with me; still too depressed and tired and all that.  
  
*10.am. Band practice. As usual, Zell and Seifer are spiting each other; Squall pretended that nothing had happened last night. Ahh, crap. Let him be. I wouldn't want anybody bothering me about it anyway...  
  
Zell: Aw, crap! Whaddya mean, we can't use the damned rehearsal room? We gotte practice, now! The contest's tomorrow!  
  
Guy from other band 1: Duh, don't you think we know that?Besides, we have a signed permission from Instructor Goth!  
  
G.F.O.B. 2: Besides, you didn't reserve it first!  
  
Seifer: Nice going, Zell! You were supposed to do that!  
  
Zell: (getting frustrated) I told you, I can't do that! I was sent to detention, remember? You oughta know that...  
  
Seifer: Well then, who did you ask to reserve the damned rehearsal room?  
  
Zell: well, um.... I asked Squall!  
  
Squall: ........no you didn't.  
  
Zell: (REALLY getting frustrated) Awww..... crap!  
  
Seifer: Great. Chicken-wuss did it again...  
  
G.F.O.B. 1: eherm... In the meantime, you're taking up our space, our patience and our time.... So get the hell out of here!  
  
Zell: Fine.... go on.... we can beat you without practicing anyway...  
  
G.F.O.B. 2: Oh, yeah, so-called Chicken-wuss? Wanna make something of it?  
  
Zell: WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
G.F.O.B. 1: He called you CHICKEN-WUSS, duh?!  
  
Zell: Oh, that's it, you're gonna pay! (supposedly going to fight with the weirdos, but was restrained by me and Squall)  
  
Squall: Wait, Zell, stop! It's not worth it to fight these punks...  
  
G.F.O.B. 2: Whuzza matter, commander? You gay or something?  
  
Seifer: He got you there, eh?  
  
Squall: (snap!) Oh, that's it, you're gonna pay for that remark! (was restrained by Zell and me)  
  
G.F.O.B. 1: And what about you, lapdog? Had enough of the sorceress? Hah! I'm surprised they let a bum like you back here....  
  
Seifer: (grabbing Hyperion out of nowhere) You wanna have a scar too, bird- brain?  
  
Was generally having a riot at the hallways, with me as the peacemaker. Good thing I'm invisible... for the upteenth time... But then, Quistis came, and calmed them down.  
  
Quistis: (grabbing her trusty Save the Queen) Break it up, break it up! Stop acting like a buncha 5 year olds!  
  
Zell: They started it.....  
  
G.F.O.B. 1: Shut your trap, Dincht!  
  
Seifer: Well well well, cranky, are we?  
  
G.F.O.B. 2: You should talk! If you think you're such hot stuff, why don't we make a deal?  
  
Seifer: Oh, yeah? What?  
  
G.F.O.B. 2: You win----- we become your slaves for a month......  
  
Zell: And what if you win?.... which you won't?......  
  
G.F.O.B. 1: (looks at #2 and nods) You sing Cactus Jack in ladies' nighties in front of the whole Garden.....  
  
Zell: WHAT?! NO WAY ARE WE GONNA SING IN LADIES' NIGHTIES FOR YOU AIRHEADS!!!  
  
Seifer: Be quiet, chicken-wuss...... Okay, ya bums. We accept.  
  
Me: (shocked, of course) WHAT?! Do you know what we're getting into?  
  
G.F.O.B. 1: Whuzza matter? You more chicken than Chicken wuss here?  
  
Zell: Hey!  
  
Me: Why I oughta.........  
  
Quistis: Stop it! If you won't, I'll make sure not one of you plays in the contest, y'hear?!  
  
Well, that quieted us, for a while. Squall wasn't able to practice with us. Rinoa and Cid giving him lectures about 'being-a-good-example-to-the- students' and such. Man, is he ready to kill someone.  
  
*3.05 pm. Walking all by myself in Training Center. Managed this time to avoid any pesky grat or T-rexaur that would come my way. Nobody lost in here.... I guess I could go now. Ihate Training Center duty!----what the.... Somebody in the bushes.....  
  
Mysterious guy 1: What do you mean, we go in the middle of the forest at night just to practice?  
  
Mysterious guy 2: We're not gonna practice, moron! We're gonna meet up with some professionals, and we're gonna disguise them to be like us!  
  
Mysterious guy 3: You sure that's gonna work?  
  
Mysterious guy 2: Sure it will!  
  
Mysterious guy 1: But why in the forest?  
  
Mysterious guy 2: We can't take any chances here in the Garden. Most of the people here are in the commander, lapdog and chicken-wuss's good side. (hmph. Forget me, will they? they're gonna pay big time!)  
  
Mysterious guy 3: Hmm... the way you mention those three, sounds like they're after your blood right now!  
  
Mysterious guy 2: Oh, what do you know?! Okay, we should be in the forest at.... 6.00 pm. Got it?  
  
Hah.... more than you'd now, you yahoo! Now, have to tell the others.... D'oh! A Grat!  
  
6.00 pm. In the forest in ninja suits, spying on the yahoos who hadn't arrived yet. Zell and Seifer also in ninja suits. Squall in Garden, with walkie-talkie thingie. (like a buncha real spies, we are! heheheh!)  
  
Zell: Okay, you guys already know the signals?  
  
Me: Yeah, sure!  
  
Seifer: Quiet, you two! Here they come!  
  
Squall: You got the videocam? We're gonna nail them down this time!  
  
G.F.O.B. 1: Where the hell are those professionals you were beefin' about, Jeff?  
  
Jeff (who was #2): Just wait, Kyle! You can't expect them to be here at EXACTLY 6.00!  
  
Kyle: Okay, okay! Bob, you got the make up kit?  
  
Bob: Sure!  
  
Zell: You got it all, Seifer?  
  
Seifer: Yeah, chicken-wuss! I'm not an idiot...  
  
Zell: What? Why I oughta....  
  
Squall: Don't goof up, dammit!  
  
Jeff: Here they come! Hey, Blank! Marcus! Cinna! (a/n: can't think of other names, dammit all!)  
  
Blank: Are you sure this is allowed?  
  
Bob: No, we're actually mmmmppphhh! (gagged by Jeff)  
  
Jeff: shut up, moron! Yes, sure this is allowed! This is.... um..... Incognito Competition, yeah!  
  
Marcus: Why'd you pick the middle of the forest, then?  
  
Kyle: Um..... coz....  
  
Jeff: Er..... um.....  
  
Bob: Eh.....? Oh, yeah! We were planting trees, but since you suggested 6.00.........  
  
Cinna: (doubtfully) Oh..... okay......  
  
*6.30. They finished applying the makeup and disguises on the professionals. We were about to go home, but nooooo........  
  
Seifer: Okay! They're done! Over...  
  
Squall: Good work, guys! Now, go back to Garden in most discreet way!  
  
Zell: Aye-aye, sir!  
  
Me: Hey watch it, Zell! I'm slipping!  
  
Zell: Sorry!  
  
Seifer: Faster, slowpokes! They might catch us!  
  
Me: Guys, I'm losing it... WHOA-WHOOOAAAAAAA! (falls offa tree)  
  
Zell, Seifer and Squall: D'oh!  
  
Jeff: well, well, well, what do we have here?  
  
Bob: Looks like a ninja to me, boss....  
  
Kyle: So what do we do to him?  
  
Blank: Hey, is this our concern?  
  
Jeff: No, you guys go back to Garden. we'll take care of this one.  
  
Me: (giving signal to Seifer and Zell to move it!) What're you bums gonna do to me?  
  
Jeff: Good question..... Boys?  
  
Kyle and Bob: Hehehe.... (showing off a long piece of rope)  
  
*7.00. How humiliating. Tied to a tree by some yahoos.  
  
Jeff: Good luck getting outta here, deadhead!  
  
And they left me in the forest. Duurrrr!  
  
9.30 pm. Still tied to tree. Poor me. Hungry and thirsty. No savior. Probably gonna be kicked outta SeeD. Can't blame the squabble boys; it's curfew. Damn. Hey, wait a minute. A bitebug!  
  
"Bitebug! come here!"  
  
The bitebug turned to my direction and looked at me, confused. (not in battle terms.) Hmph. Relying on a bitebug to save my life and career. How humiliating. But, what're you gonna do.....  
  
"Bite the ropes off, will you?"  
  
The bitebug, instead, bit my nose.  
  
"No, no, dammit! The ropes, the ropes!"  
  
Didn't understand a thing. Damn.  
  
Wait a minute. I hear rustling sounds. Must be a Deathclaw! Oh, no!  
  
"YAAAAAAHHHH!!!" I screamed when I heard it come near me.  
  
"Relax, Nida! It's me!"  
  
Deathclaw turned out to be Xu. I'm saved!  
  
"Xu? What are you doing here? It's past curfew!"  
  
She smiled. "Hey, I'm special. I have permission to go anywhere, except past midnight. Squall, Zell and Seifer told me about your... um.... dilemma." She looked at the Bitebug who is currently bugging me.  
  
"Thanks. Now, will you get me untied, please?"  
  
"Oh, sure....."  
  
We walked back to Garden, and the minute I got there, I only thought about going to sleep and forget all about what had happened. (after thanking Xu, that is.)  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Finally, that's done! Yes! Took me quite a while, eh? I think..... 2 more chapters and this is done. So tell me what you think of this one! Expect the next chapter to be about the contest! So, would you like them to sing Cactus Jack in ladies' nighties? Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah! 


	8. Forgetting Things

Nida's Journal Part VIII: 

Forgetting things.

7.15 am. Woke up to find frantic banging on door. Groggily tried to make my way to the door with crystalline things still in eyes. Person at door was saying muffled thingy. 

"Dude! Open up! Open up!" 

I sleepily leaned at the door. Looking through the peephole with one veiny eye, I mumbled, "Who is it?" 

"Zell! Open up!!!!!" he said. 

With an 'ugh', I opened the door… and found a very happy Zell hopping around in his usual shrunk bellbottoms, red-and-black sneakers, and, for some strange reason, a yellow shirt. 

"Dude, nice pajamas!" he said, eyeing my blue rocket ship pajamas. (Dang it! I'll make it a necessity to wear bath robe next time.) 

"Yeah. Nice shirt." I muttered sarcastically back. 

"Really? I thought it made me look fat, you know? Cuz, it's bright, and all… I look like a bloated Pikachu! But Selphie gave it to me, and it seems rude to, you know, not wear it, and…" 

"Enough about the shirt… what brings you here?" 

He finally stopped hopping and made a funny pose. 

"He-ey! Don't tell me you forgot that tonight, we're gonna ROCK the… uh… QUAD!!!" he said, air-guitaring like an idiot. (Mornings nowadays don't work for me) 

"The Quad?" I rubbed my forehead. Can't remember a hyne-forsaken thing. 

Zell looked at me unbelievably. "Uh, you still there, Nida? Remember the band thing? You know? We had to dress like ninjas and stalk the other guys to have a better chance of winning!!!!" 

Ninjas? Bands? 

"What are you talking about?" 

Zell held his head as if it was about to explode, or something, while screaming, "NOOOO!!!!" He then shook my shoulders frantically. "N-nida?! Don't tell me you don't remember anything about this week?!" 

Hmm… come to think of it… 

"Uh…" 

"Tell me you're kidding, man!!!! Tell me you're yoost yolking!!!!" he said. 

Yoost yolking? 

"… huh? Yoost yolking?" 

"… I mean, just joking!!!!" he contorted his tongue in ways no person can understand. 

I rubbed my head. "… No, I don't think I'm joking…" I said, slowly. 

…. Oh no! NOTHING HAPPENED THIS WEEK?! 

"… Wait a sec, Zell, I have to check up on something…" I muttered before slamming the door. 

Only, I wasn't talking to anybody by that time. Zell zoomed away frantically. 

7.30 am. I checked up on the previous pages of this journal. Things about me ranting about Ellone and cards and bands and keyboards and idiot neighbors and Xu?! What the heck?! 

Why can't I remember anything about any of these?! (Hmm… it's amazing how I can write as I think… Good thing I took Stenography during my sophomore days…) 

Damn. Damn. I'm practically picking out every strand of hair on my head. It was like a horrible liquid was injected inside my brain, gradually killing and disintegrating a little bit of my memories… 

7.31 am. Must not panic. Must not panic. Must be a logical answer to all of these… Yah. I'm cool. Collected. Not gonna snap or anything… yeah. Cool. 

7.32 am. GYANCK! …. Oh, it's only the door. 

T'was Squall. I hope. I think he was the only one I know who has the guts to show of his figure with leather pants. 

"Nida," Goody. He acknowledged my presence. "Zell tells me you lost your memory about… uh… whatever he thinks you forgot." 

"Yeah. Or maybe this is just a bad dream," I thought.

"Uh… he did?" I replied lamely. He nodded. I s'posed he waited for my answer, so I did answer. 

"Uh… Whatever weird thing happened to me… might have something to do with the ninjas." Urk. That's it, no more ad-libbing for me. 

Squall raised an eyebrow at this. "Uh… we were the ninjas, Nida." 

Me? A ninja, throwing daggers and the like? Cool. 

A blurry image of a ninja being stung by a mosquito while tied to a tree suddenly appeared in my head. 

"… was someone tied to a tree while being stung by a bug?" I asked. 

Squall made a face. "Uh… that was you, Nida. Remember?" 

Dangit. I had to remember that I was the loser. 

"Do you remember anything else, now?" he asked. 

"No." I said. Though I also remembered falling off a tree. 

Squall held his forehead. "Ugh. They must have done something to you. Better take you to the infirmary." He said. I almost went out of the room to follow him, but stopped when he said, "and get out of that absurd get-up." I made a disgruntled sound before I went into my room and changed into my casual clothes, and out of my rocket ship pajamas. 

8.20 am. In the infirmary, watching a volunteer tie up a junior classman's broken finger. Dr. Kadowaki had just finished torturing me, but is all over now…Wonder what's wrong with me. Squall and Zell are were, too. Along with the junior classmen, they were watching me like I was some sort of experimental guinea pig. Here was the horrible scenario all over again:

"Hmm…" the doctor said, before slapping violently at my wrist. "Ow!" I whined. The kids giggled. 

"Yes, good. Not numb." Dr. Kadowaki said, while writing an un-understandable scrawl in her notebook. 

"So, Doctor, like, what's wrong with him?" Zell asked. 

"… Might be an artificial toxin injected in his brain, but I have to make sure. NURSE!" she bellowed. 

A redhead came towards us. She didn't wear those white plunging nurse suits, thankfully, but Squall reacted somewhat weirdly upon seeing her. 

"Ma'am, the name's Chesca, remember? I'm just a volunteer." She said. 

"Hmm? Oh, yes. Please get a syringe. We're going to have a blood test." 

Wh-WHAT?! BLOOD TEST?! 

'Chesca' nodded, then went to the stock to go get the needles. Brrr, needles. Can't stand them. Even the junior classmen knew how needles felt, on account of the "OOOH!!!" they gave when the doctor mentioned 'blood test'. 

As I panicked about being pierced with stuff to get my blood, Zell nudged Squall and whispered (but loud enough for me to hear), "Dude, isn't she the…?" 

Squall kicked Zell's shin, which sent the latter to hop on one foot. (I'm makin' it a point to improve my grammar! Instructor Trepe would have a cow if I don't) 

The redhead came back. Dr. Kadowaki got a cotton ball, soaked it in alcohol, and reached for my arm. She rubbed the veiny part with it. 

"Don't worry, Noel, this won't hurt one bit…" I can see the point of the needle glint evilly at me. I started to blabber. The kids laughed at me again. 

"Ma'am, I think his name is Nida…" Chesca said, while handing her the syringe. 

"… Yeah. Okay, Nida…" she noticed me stuttering like a stuttering person about to be injected. "… And stop stuttering, boy! This would just feel like an ant bite!" 

"U-uh…. Isn't there another way?!" I said, just barely avoiding the needle. Dr. Kadowaki was annoyed. 

She puffed up her cheeks, but she calmed down. She then smiled at me. "Oh, as a matter of fact, Nido, there is!" Ugh. Hate it when people forget my name. Who doesn't? "Oh-key dokey. Ready?" 

Ready? Ready for what? 

"OH my God!!! What's that over there?!" she said. Like an idiot, I spun and said, "Where?!" 

She stung me with the needle, that she did. What an idiot I am. (… note to self, not over-use the word 'idiot')  

I screamed, "_________!" (that being a silent scream, not a cuss word, like $^%@#!!!)

Squall flinched. Zell was still looking at where I was supposed to look, saying, "Where? Where? I don't see anything…" Chesca wore this weird look. And the kids looked away.  

Dr, Kadowaki smiled. "Okay, it's done, boy. We'll just drop this here blood on that computer-thingy and in a few seconds, we'll find out what's swimming in your brain." Oh, joy. 

Squall frowned. "Dr, I didn't know that Cid allowed that kind of technology in here…" Dr. Kadowaki just shrugged. 

"Dude!? Where's the thing?! I don't see anything…" Zell whined. What an idiot…. Er… Moron. The kids slapped their foreheads. In unison. Creepy. 

Everyone sighed. "Zell, there's nothing in there," said Chesca. Wonder how she got to know them. Squall frowned even more. Zell scratched his head. "Okay… if you say so…" 

"Okay…" Dr. Kadowaki said, getting our attention. "Well, apparently, Nida's problem is in his brain." Squall asked, "Whatever do you mean?" Dr. Kadowaki approached me. 

"Well, boy… how am I supposed to say this to you…" 

"Wha-what?! What's wrong with me, doc?"  Panic. Panic. Panic all over again. 

"Well, it seems that you have…" Everyone held their breaths. Or at least, I held mine. Actually, the others seemed pretty calm. "ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE!!!" 

Hearing this, I fainted instantly. Dang it.  

*** 

"Nida? Nida?" am I dead? 

Apparently, not. Somebody punched my stung arm. 

"OW!!!" 

"Goody, he's alive, man!!!" Zell. Typical of him to punch dying people's arms. 

I opened my eyes. Blurry. Then, was all clear when someone sprinkled my face with water. 

Saw Squall, Zell, Quistis, Selphie, Xu and Chesca gathered around me, like a family does when kid bought a new guinea pig, and all's fascinated by the rodent. 

 "Are you okay? Your eyes were moving, like, in a creepy way when you were asleep!" said Selphie. 

"Selphie, that just means he was dreaming of something vivid. Right?" Quistis smiled at me. 

"Yeah, I guess…" I muttered. Actually, I didn't dream about anything. Must be a side effect of Alzheimer's. 

….. OH NO!!!!!!

Chesca smiled reassuringly at me. "Okay, just to tell you, the doctor was just joking about the Alzheimer thing. She scares more people that way. A weird hobby of hers, really." Really? Swish. 

"Doc was yoost yolking?" Zell said. Everyone looked at him weirdly. "… I… I mean, just joking? Hehehehe…" Hmm… a pondering session is in order. 

"So, what's wrong with him?" Xu asked. 

"Only a touch of bitebug poison. Seems that it has weird effects on him. Maybe he's too sensitive. It makes him just temporarily forget certain happenings, whatsoever." Chesca explained. 

I'm… too sensitive? Self esteem gauge lowered again. What a girly man I am. Sigh. 

"Will it heal by itself? Or, does he need to be… uh… syringed again?" Selphie asked a bit too cheerfully. Wonder how she keeps being so sickeningly optimistic all the time. 

"It will heal by itself, but it will be faster if he relaxes outdoors, for a day." Chesca said. 

Squall nodded. "Okay, people, I think Nida needs some time here, right? Let's go…" he muttered, pushing people out of the room. 

Quistis looked at him angrily. "Squall… just because she's…" 

Squall stopped her. "No time for that, let's go!" He went out of the room. Xu was the last one to leave. 

She looked back at me. "Okay, just get better, all right?" She patted my shoulder, then gave me a thumbs-up on the way out. Wired. I mean, weird. 

Chesca, who was left behind to watch over me for a little while longer, shook her head. "Hmph. Squall still hasn't changed, apparently." 

Hmm. Interesting. "Uh… so… what's with you or Squall? Is he your ex or something?" I asked. 

She shook her head even more so. "Oh, no, no, no, no!!! Just that…" she smiled. "He lost to me." 

"Lost to you? In what?" 

"In Triple Triad." Oooh. 

"… Elaborate," I asked her. 

"Okay. He went to this weird quest, just to get me to fork over the Irvine card. During our last battle, he thought that I would, you know, use my pathetic cards, so he got 4 pathetic cards and his Squall card. Too bad, really." She laughed, "He lost. 6 to 4. So I did what any logical person would do. I took his Squall card. The one he got from the President of Esthar." 

I flinched. "That has GOT to hurt!" I said. If I had a Nida card, I wouldn't use it, ever. Just show it off. Helps my ever-so-flattened ego. 

"Yeah! You should have seen the look on his face… He challenged me again. This time using his Zell, Selphie and Seifer cards." 

"And… he won, right?" 

Chesca sighed. "Well, it wasn't his lucky day, so… he lost. By that time, all he could do was walk away angrily." Ooh. That has REALLY got to hurt. 

"Oh… and what made him chase you, anyway? How would he know that the Irvine card was with you?" 

"Oh. I'm The Queen of Cards, you know." She said, simply. 

Oooooh. The Queen of Cards, huh? 

"So… to change the subject… Are you gonna have your r & r outside? Or in here?" 

"I guess outside, I need the break, anyway. We're in Balamb, right?" 

"Yeah. I'm gonna go outside, too. Gonna visit my folks." She said. Hmm. A thought. 

"Oh. Okay. Can I tag along with you? Maybe I can relax there, too." 

She smiled. "I'd like that." 

________________

END OF CHAPTER! 

a/n: About time I continued this! My style may be a little bit rusty… hey, it's been months since I last typed the 7th chapter… Hope you people may still appreciate this! 

The Queen of Cards, huh? Wonder what's gonna happen next. (Obviously, I don't know too.) So the aforementioned last two chapters may be extended to 5. Sob.   


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